Safety razor with discardable head



Aug. 14, 1951 L. c. DENSLOW SAFETY RAZOR WITH DISCARDABLE HEAD Filed Nov 50, 1945 Swim/who's LO/e250 Cflezaslow %a% Patented Aug. 14, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SAFETY RAZOR WITH DISCARDABLE HEAD Lorenzo C. Denslow, Washington, D. 0.

Application N overnber 30, 1945, Serial No. 631,804 1 Claim. (01. 30-47) This invention relates to an improved safety razor.

Heretofore, in devices of this kind, the objective, for the most part, seems to have been to provide a blade which could be installed between some expedient of a handle and clamp, used, sharpened, and finally discarded, while the main parts of the razor would remain a permanent investment to be employed in conjunction with new blades ardently advertised to refit the razor. Many disadvantages could be cited against the conception.

Primarily, it may be noted that in the average razor of the kind the lateral distance between the blade edge and the effective face-contacting surface of the clamp is too great, with the result that the razor must be tilted more or less at an acute angle to the face in order that the blade may do its work. As a consequence, most razors of the kind must be used somewhat in the manner of a hoe. Furthermore, blades installed by the user have no precise spacing or relation between blade edge, clamp, and guard.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a razor wherein but extremely small lateral thickness will lie between the facecontacting surface of the head and the blade edge so that, to all intents and purposes, the

blade may lie substantially parallel to the face and thus, in the same manner as a straight edge razor, cut the beard at substantially a right angle to the hairs.

A further object of the invention is to provide a razor wherein the razor head will comprise a composite unit of blade and sheath precisionmade to securely anchor the blade in the sheath in a predetermined fixed position, and adapted to be sold as a unit to supplant a like unit when the blade thereof has become dulled.

Another object of the invention is to provide a razor wherein, by pre-fabricating the blade and sheath as a unit, the relation between blade edge and guard will be fixed and predetermined.

And a still further object of the invention is to provide a razor wherein a single handle may be readily attached to a new head Whenever an old head must be discarded, wherein flanges will be provided on the head with which the handle may be slidably and removably engaged, fixing the angular relation between head and handle, and wherein the handle will provide a container for the head.

Other and incidental objects of the invention will appear during the course of the following description, and in the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved razor.

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the device.

' Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevation.

Figure 4 is a detail of the blade.

Figure 5 is an enlarged bottom perspective view of the head, the blade being removed.

Figure 6 is a medial longitudinal sectional view through the head, and particularly showing the manner in which the blade is anchored in its sheath.

Figure 7 is an enlarged vertical section through the handle, and showing the handle open.

Figure 8 is a rear perspective view of the blade shield.

Figure 9 is an end view showing the shield attached to the head.

Figure 10 is a front perspective view of a modified form of head.

Figure 11 is a detail transverse section showing the modified form of head attached to the handle, a portion of the handle being shown in elevation.

In carrying the invention into eifect, I employ a head, indicated as a whole at Ill. This head comprises, as will be explained, a blade, and a sheath therefor which securely mounts the blade to thus provide a composite, pre-fabricated unit so that when the blade of a head in use becomes dull, a new head is substituted for the old head.

In the interests of clarity, the sheath will be first described, and while it may be stated at the outset that the sheath and handle, which latter will also be later described in detail, may both be formed of plastic or other suitable material, still, for the purposes of the present disclosure, I have chosen to show the parts of suitable resilient sheet metal. Referring now to the sheath mentioned, sai sheath is preferably formed as an integral blank and comprises, as best seen in Figure 5 or the drawings, a body plate II in which is formed a slot' l2, the plate being bent longitudinally to define an angularly disposed guard l3 in front of said slot. At its ends, the body plate is bent under to provide stifiening flanges l4 at the ends of the head, while at the forward and rear edges of the guard l3 said plate is likewise bent under to define stiffening flanges I5 the leading one' of which provides a smooth leading edge for 'the guard. The metal freed to provide the slot; I2 is bent rearwardly to define a longitudinal flange l6 extending between the flanges l4, and struck from the body plate medially thereof at the lower side of the head is a short flange l7 facing the flange IS.

The body plate ll further comprises, as perhaps best seen in Figure 1 of the drawings, a face plate I8 which overlies the portion of the body plate rearwardly of the slot l2 to thus provide a socket 19 substantially U-shaped in cross section, and extending from the ends of the face plate are ears 20 bent under to lie flat against the flanges l4 and anchor the face plate. 7

The blade 2| employed is shown in detail in Figure of the drawings. The blade, will, of course, be formed of suitable steel and sharpened to provide a cutting edge. Formed in the blade at its ends are notches 22. The blade is seated solidly in the socket IQ of the head Ill, and the parts are so proportioned that the blade fits the socket so that no play of the blade in any dired-' tion is possible, the blade being clamped tight between the body plate ll and the face plate 18.

Indented from the face plate, as particularly seen in Figure 6, are knobsrZd which engage in the QQEhes 22 of the blade and lock the blade in place.

It will thus be seen that the head ID, as a whole, is actually, as previously stated, a composite, gym-fabricated unit. The location of the cutting edge of the blade relative to the width of the slot I2 and rel i e to the guard 13 is pr determined and fixed so that the head Provides an entity devised for best shaving without likelihood of bein tampered with by the user. In this connection,

it is to be noted that the head 10, whe laid fl t a a nst the iace. ll di pose the cutting ed e of the blade :2] at sub tantially a ri ht angle t th hairs of the beard. The face plate l8 of the sheath off the head l-fl i fin-rea y extremel thin. notwithstanding the exaggerated showing of the drayyihesas to the thickness thereo and the h 24 of the guard l3 lies in a plane with the bottom ra e of the l de. Wh le the trout race o t e lopesofi gently at o ly a few deereesir m ontel-' hus. the guard !3 in front of the cutting edge of the blade 2|, and the ,face plate I5 the rear of the u tin edge o h blade will provide areas of contact of the head "a ainst the fa e and gu d he head :io mo emcierrt position for best cutting of the beard at substantially a right angle of said edge to the "hairs.

conjunction with the head 10"1 provide a handle di,cated as a whole at 25,. The handle is preferably formed from a blank of suitable resilient sheet metal and is triangular in edge elenation. The handle includes a flat base 26 reiniorced by lateral overlying flanges 21, and rising from the as are conversing ,front and rear walls 1B which carry s-lida ly overlapping pairs of sid flanges 29. tinn d. to nror e p on s L 5 an 3.1 resp c iv ly, form d on th free ends of sa d p s ar 30 is an ular while t e pro e 3| s st a h As shown in Figure '7, the base 26 may be flexed to permitseparation of the front and rear walls 28, when the head -10 may be disposed in the handle.

The front and rear walls are .con-

eral flanges 33 and 34 respectively. The prone the handle provides a convenient container v for the head. I

he head '10 is attalled to the handle by :riirst squeezing the pron s 3i) and 3 o t e hendle into contact, when the h ad is appl ed findwise over the .flanges 133 and 34. The flange 33 is slipped benea h the dense N5 of the head Whil he flan e 3a is sli d beneath the .iiange H .of the head. The parts are resilient and the 6. nectionis tight. Thus, the angularrelationof the head in respect to the handle is fixed, and since theprongs 3.0 and 31 of the handle are in contact with each other throughout the :maj or portion .of

their outer extremities, rigidity is imparted to the shank formed by said prongs so that the head is solidly supported by the prongs without tendency under stress to twist in either one direction or the other.

In connection with the structure provided by the assembled head l0 and handle 25, it will be noted, as more particularly seen ;in Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings, that the prongs and 3| of r I when detached from the handle may be pre erred.

I accordingly provide the element shown in Eigure 8 and .9 of the dr wing The shield, in th embodiment shown, ,is of resilient sheet metal and o pri es a substantially channel shaped clip 35 providedat one side with an angular flange 3:6. and at the other side thereof w th a tongue at oppo i sides of which tongue are formed intu ned flanges .8- he clip ,is applied .endwise to the head ill in the .inahn r sh w n Fig re .9.- {rn fiange as abuts the face plate 18. the tongue 31 engages beneath the flange I! of the body plate I l, and the fl ng s 3.8 impin e he vfree ed e of the flan e l6 and, as the clip is move ehdwise, ui e the tongue 3-1 under t e fl nge JLthe sid walls of the clip being tensioned so that th Clip is frictionally held in place.

- .In i es 10 a d ll f t e drawings. I have shown a modification of the vention which i lyolves provision of a head 35' which mounts a double edge blade 36. The sheath .31 for the ade i most respects lik the sheath. fir described, except that the body plate of the sheath 3' s p ovided wi a pair f slots 38' to acGOm IlOdate the edges of the blade, and is furth r provided with a pair f, uards 39. corresponding to the guard 3 f the head In. Ly

ing in the rear of each of the slots 38 is a pair of flanges 40 and 4-! respectively, corresponding to the flanges .15 and I1 first described. and adapted for detachable engagement with the handle 25 in the manner previously explained, so that the head may be arranged upon the handle to selectively dispose either one edge or the other of the blade position r use-I I is further to be noted that in this variation of the inventi n, he b a 36 is c amp d np eee by a separate face plate 42 provided at its ends with spaced ears 43 which straddle lobes 44, on the'en s of the blade and are ent under the body plate for locking the parts in fixed, assembled relation. Otherwise, the modified structure is substantially identical with the preferred form of the invention first described, and further description'is accordingly believed unnecessary.

Having thus described my invention, what claim is:

A safety razor including .a :body plate having an overlying face plate and provided with a slot therein, ablade clamped between said plates and having'its cutting edge exposed at said .slot, ears formed on .one or" theplates and engaging the other plate to permanently secure the blade in place for the period of usefulness of the blade and provide a composite 'discardable razor head, flanges formed on said head, and a handle hav ing flexibly connected normally converging front and rear walls continued to provide prongs rising in contact with each other from the upper end of the handle in angular relation thereto and provided with flanges engaging said first mentioned flanges and detachably mounting the head upon the handle, the front and rear walls of the handle being adapted to be flexed apart to receive the head in the handle when detached therefrom.

LORENZO C. DENSLOW.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number 6 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Hart Apr. 27, 1909 Bean Nov. 19, 1912 OReilly Aug. 22, 1916 Fisher Sept. 22, 1931 Manley June 14, 1932 Bensel Oct. 9, 1945 Clarke June 3, 19 17 

